Rude Hag

[CrappyToHelp]

So I used to work on the Music and Video department at my store. I got moved and now do signage.

I was over at the M&V Desk talking to a colleague and she has to go to do something elsewhere. I wait for her to get back, and while she's gone, I have a lady come up to me.

Me: self-explanatory
RH: Rude old hag

RH: *thrusts DVD player at me*
Me: Hi, how can I help?
RH: How does a DVD player work?

Now this is a question for the most seasoned of people - I took it, given her age, that she wanted to know how it worked in conjunction with a TV, instead of how the laser actually reads the disc.

Me: You plug in your DVD player, and connect it with a SCART lead to your TV.

RH: You're speaking too fast and I have no idea what you're saying.

I take this on board, as I tend to speak very quickly. I slow it down to the point where I am trying not to over-enunciate every sound of a word.

Me: Sorry about that. You need to connect it with a SCART lead to your TV.
RH: Do I get one with it?
Me: I'm not sure - some DVD players provide them and others don't. Without opening it, I'd have no way of finding out. (The box doesn't say.)
RH: So I have to buy something else? What a scam. I should report you to trading standards.
Me: You can buy them for under a pound.
RH: Anyway, what does the SCART lead do?
Me: Do you have Virgin or Sky?
RH: No.
Me: Freeview?
RH: No.

How in God's name do I explain it now? She's never used one before and doesn't seem to appreciate that I can't be clearer than "You need to connect it with a SCART lead to your TV." without using an example.

Me: If you like, I could draw you a diagram that shows you where you need the cables to go?
RH: How dare you! I'm not stupid! You're stupid - you're not making any f**king sense!
Me: Would you prefer to speak to another colleague?
RH: No. I'll come back with someone who has a f**king clue what they're talking about.

As she walks off, I hear "incompetent c**t" under her breath.



Très charmante...

[Mytical]

Ah the "I don't comprehend what you are saying, so you must be the idiot." SC. Those are always fun. Logic and EW's ... never the twain shall meet.

[dalesys]

The SCART cable goes under the skirt...

[Mytical]

The SCART cable goes under the skirt...

Glad I was obeying rule #1 here.

[Pixilated]

If you're going to buy unfamiliar technology, at least for crying out loud be honest that you have NO CLUE how to use it, and try to pay attention to people who are trying to explain it to you ...

Somebody like that (and I can sympathize with her, up to a point) needs things explained in words of one syllable or less, right from the bottom up.

[Evannah]

What the heck!! You were just trying to help! She ought to be banned.

[RealUnimportant]

Me: Would you prefer to speak to another colleague?
RH: No. I'll come back with someone who has a f**king clue what they're talking about.

So they're going off to find a friend who could probably explain it to them without asking... Then dragging them back here to watch her rant & moan some more? Gah.

[vstorevigilante]

Although I haven't encountered the hag-level rudeness in this category, I work at a video store and get questions and phone calls like this all the time.

My store is video RENTAL. Not machine rental or retail. It's really not in my job description to tell people how to operate their DVD player - the most I really should have to do is explain that a blu-ray won't play in a DVD player and a blu-ray player is a separate machine altogether (and I won't delve into how they're backwards-compatible unless someone asks, because that confuses people even further, for some reason).

Of course, trying to be helpful, I *do* answer those questions as best I can, but it's really, really frustrating. People call about getting stuck on the menu screen or saying the disc must be faulty "because it just keeps playing the previews over and over" all the time. And don't get me started on foreign films that have an optional English dub (like the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for example). However, I guess these technically impaired folks are why we're still in business - I'm guessing if they can't operate a DVD player without guidance, downloading and burning movies is out of the question!

[Food Lady]

I'm still trying to get over the fact that you have to pay for TV. But yeah, DVD players have been around for what, 20 years? I'm not too much into electronics, and I can figure it out. People baffle me.

[Captain Trips]

I think you threw her by saying "SCART" - I would have said, "You plug the power cord into the power outlet in the wall, and hook the other cable between this box and your TV."

What does "SCART" mean, anyway?

[SimonF12009]

It's French for the group of companies who came up with the specification:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCART

[CrappyToHelp]

Syndicat des Constructeurs d'Appareils Radiorécepteurs et Téléviseurs

Radio and Television Receiver Manufacturer's Association.

Apparently, it's referred to Stateside as an EIA Multiport.

[EricKei]

But yeah, DVD players have been around for what, 20 years? I'm not too much into electronics, and I can figure it out. People baffle me.

The old "even rocket scientists can't figure out how set the time on their VCR's" joke was around for HOW long?

People -- especially SC's -- expect everything to "just work." Anything that requires the slightest bit of effort on their part is, of course, a defect.

[MoonCat]

Syndicat des Constructeurs d'Appareils Radiorécepteurs et Téléviseurs

Radio and Television Receiver Manufacturer's Association.

Apparently, it's referred to Stateside as an EIA Multiport.

I confess that I would no idea what either of those things mean, other than "something that connects the player to the TV." Therefore, if I were the customer I would have loved to have someone draw me a diagram! I need to get a DVD player but I'm concerned that I wouldn't be able to hook it up...diagrams are good!

[Minapi]

Some old people are the most unreasonable. I don't know why people get so mad for. She doesn't understand how it works. It's not a sin to not know how something operates. That's why people work there. To explain things. Psshh... That woman crazy... -__-